Explore every episode of the podcast Athlon U: The College Football Podcast

Steven and Braden talk QBs going into the NFL Draft and if we are learning anything about the position in college? Nico is going to UCLA and the playoff start times have been announced. Then we embark on our dream road trip through the ACC (and Notre Dame). The middle of the ACC is wildly unpredictable as many teams could jump to challenge the top tier in 2025.

Steven and Braden break down the latest NIL saga between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee. What does it tell us about the future of the sport? Will schools and coaches actually gain leverage? Who made the right decisions and did anyone actually get better?

Steven and Braden break down the bizarre career of Troy Taylor at Stanford. Should general managers be making decisions on coaches? How have rankings teams in the preseason changed over the last 15 years? Why 2025 might be the most difficult and entertaining preseason top 25 ever.

Steven and Braden talk college football. News from Bowling Green, Deion Sanders and the NCAA 26 video game as well as news with NIL and recruiting. Plus, how much is a new stadium worth to a college football program? Can a Group of 5 program become a power program with a new building? South Florida, UCF, Houston, Tulane, SMU and more are showing us.

Steven and Braden talk college football's quarterbacks in 2025. What are the trends around G5 signal callers and what does it tell us about the game? Which league has the best QB? Which league is the most underrated? Which league is loaded with potential? Is anyone better than Arch Manning?

Steven and Braden talk college football - this time live from the Combine in Indy. What are coaches saying about Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and how much players transfer? What is the NFL saying about Travis Hunter? And we grade every first year head coach from 2025?

What teams outside of the Top 25 are the ones we like to surge in 2025? Last year, Miami, SMU and Iowa State were just outside the top 25 and had huge seasons. What are those teams this year? Plus, what are the implications of the new ACC TV contract? And the coordinator carousel is still spinning. Steven and Braden talk college football.

Steven and Braden talk college football. Braden is at Senior Bowl practice recapping all the buzz from down in Mobile. Then we explain Lassan's early 2025 preseason top 25.

Steven and Braden break down Ohio State's national championship victory over Notre Dame. Will Howard's play, the decisions by Marcus Freeman, Ryan Day's legacy and how the new format gave us what we wanted. 

Steven and Braden preview the National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame. Characters, storylines, upset-ability, blue-chip ratio, coaching legacies, match-ups and predictions.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Ohio State topped Texas and Notre Dame eliminated Penn State in what was the best pair of semifinals in modern history. So did the new format do its job? What to make of Quinn Ewers legacy and Texas' staying power? Ohio State is just too good. The Irish and Lions have the same issue but it made for a great match-up. What does it tell us about James Franklin (if anything) and Marcus Freeman (and Brian Kelly)?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football playoffs. Texas survives on the back of a gutty win while Arizona State won hearts and minds. But do the Horns have the personnel to challenge Ohio State in the semis? (Since the Buckeyes routed Oregon) Notre Dame and Penn State match-up after hard-fought wins over Boise and Georgia. What does this Final Four tell us about the future of the game?

Welcome to Athlon U! Steven and Braden begin a new era of college football with some fresh new digs. Ohio St, Texas, Penn St and Notre Dame move on in style and are worth celebrating. So why is the internet so dumb? We break down the first round and scold the comments section.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football as the first round of the playoffs is upon us. We preview the games from a schematic match-up standpoing as well as a psychological standpoint. How big of a factor is pressure, the condensed schedule and weather? Bill Belichick is a college football coach, Braden reveals his Heisman ballot and the weirdest coaching carousel ever?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football as the new 12-team playoff debuts for the first time in history. Did the Committee get it right? What upsets are coming? Which teams do we trust? Who are we picking to win the whole thing? Why the issues were so predictable.

Steven and Braden talk college football. Isn't post-game drama fun (or classless)? Ryan Day's future, Texas tops A&M and Miami chokes because of their coach again. The Playoff rankings should be set. Championship Saturday is coming.

Steven and Braden talk college football's Thanksgiving rivalry weekend and all of its implications. Who can lose and stay in the bracket? Who will lose? Who is already locked into a spot? Is it three teams - Clemson, Bama and Ole Miss - for one spot? Can Tulane jump Boise St? 

Steven and Braden talk college football. Is Penn State still just Penn State? What did we learn about Ohio St? How did the chaos of last week impact the at-large race to the playoff? Who is now the favorite in Big 12 - which appears to be a four-team race? Can SMU win the ACC? Two huge SEC games highlight the Week 11 slate.

Steven and Braden dive into the coaching ranks as multiple jobs have come open. The carousel is turning and moves are coming. But who is safe? Who is in trouble? On the other end of the spectrum, we have a huge group of great options for Coach of the Year. The Big Ten takes center stage with a huge showdown after contenders were tested last weekend. The G5 race, the ACC ranks, playoff discussions and more.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, including what we learned about Georgia and Texas. What to make of the Arch Manning situation. There are many very good but flawed teams that could all make the playoff and win some games. Lots of Big Ten teams will get tested this weekend but will any fail? Will a three-loss team get into the playoff?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall work through all the great overtime games of last weekend. No overreacting allowed about Oregon and Ohio State. Did we learn something definitive about Penn State? What's up with Tennessee and Alabama? Georgia visits Texas in this week's monster showdown. LSU, Clemson and Notre Dame are quietly working back into Playoff mix. Can Indiana, Iowa State, BYU and Pitt stay unbeaten?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Chaos unfolded in week 6 as five of the top 11 lost, mostly to unranked teams opening the door for dozens more teams to get into playoff contention. Who bounces back and who are we worried about? Ohio State-Oregon is big. So is Texas and Oklahoma. And also Ole Miss vs. LSU and Kansas State at Colorado.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Bama-Georgia instant classic, the ruling to end the Miami-Va Tech game, chaos in the Big 12 and Big Ten powers keep rolling. We look ahead at a Week 6 loaded with games that no one expected to be this good.

Steven and Braden talk college football entering a huge Week 5. What is Michigan or Illinois or Nebraska or Penn St or Rutgers in the Big Ten? The race for the G5 playoff spot gets more muddled with a few loses. Second-tier teams in the SEC got challenged while Bama and Georgia fight for the top spot. Utah takes control of the Big 12 while Miami takes control of the ACC.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall break down Week 3 in college football, look ahead to week 4 and talk Pac-12 expansion. A huge start to the season from the Group of 5 has led to a larger list of Playoff contenders than we thought possible. QB changes across the country make headlines. Chaos in Florida reigns supreme. SEC contenders get challenged and pass the test. Picks against the spread and more.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk recap Week 2 and preview Week 3 in college football. How will the committee view Michigan and Notre Dame? How worried are we about Oregon, Penn St or Bama? The top of the Big 12 was and will be insane. South Carolina and Nebraska posted huge wins. SEC contenders finally get some Power-4 competition. And picks against the spread.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. It's hard not to overreact to Week 1, so we try to decipher what's real and what's not about the first weekend of action. QB debuts, upsets, conference struggles and the entire state of Florida. We look ahead at a huge weekend in the Big Ten.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Georgia Tech's upset over Florida State got the season started off in memorable fashion but could Week 1 paint the ACC into corner? The right Heisman question. Deion Sanders continue to make questionable decisions in Boulder. Massive non-conference games in the SEC dominate the first weekend. Picks against the spread, a mistake bet and season win totals.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk through all the potential college football playoff possibilities. We try to guess what we are getting wrong and make our official picks for who will make the 12-team bracket for the first time.

Steven and Braden break down a good old-fashioned NCAA scandal: The Michigan Wolverines. What is happening and what should happen? Then we talk coaches on the hot seat. The SEC is ground zero for changes, a number of older coaches could face retirement decisions and volatile wildcards no one is talking about.

What a wild league this is going to be. Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Big 12 football in 2024. Utah, Mike Gundy, the state of Kansas, style of offense, surprisingly solid styles of defense, the hot seat and much more.

Braden Gall is live from Dallas for SEC Media Days. Joined by Steven Lassan, the guys break down the tiers inside the SEC in 2024. Who is on the top tier with Georgia? What to do with Bama? Who do you like Mizzou or Ole Miss? Tennessee or LSU? Auburn, Kentucky or Florida? Who is on the bottom tier?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. A big week of off-the-field news forces the future of the game back to center stage. The Power 4 contines it's proverbial breakaway but is there a way this could eventually lead to two totally different types of football?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Coaches from all over the country offer up anonymous scouting reports on every team in the country. 

The Athlon Sports preseason Top 25 is officially out! Steven Lassan and Braden Gall break down the rankings and what the playoff bracket will look like in 2024.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall go on a Group of 5 Mid-Major journey through 2024. Who are the best G5 teams in college football in 2024 and what are the biggest games? Rivalries, conference championship match-ups, great locations, New Year's Six implications and more.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall tease the magazine's Top 25 rankings by looking at what will be the toughest and most important games of 2024. Which games will define the season and which games will prove our rankings wrong?